DETROIT – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders joined striking United Autoworkers (UAW) union members Wednesday when they picketed at the GM Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.
Wednesday marked the tenth day since union leaders decided to initiate a national strike Sunday, Sept. 15, against the automaker. By the next day, nearly 50,000 union members had stopped reporting to work. Sanders tweeted his support:
"I am proud to support the @UAW workers who are standing up to the greed of GM. Our message to GM is a simple one: End the greed, sit down with the UAW and work out an agreement that treats your workers with the respect and the dignity they deserve."
Strikers rallied Wednesday along the picket line at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant joined by Sanders, who became the 4th Democratic presidential hopeful to walk the UAW picket lines.
"What the workers here are saying, and the workers all over America are saying, is enough is enough," Sanders said.
Over this past weekend, things seemed to be moving forward on negotiations between General Motors and the UAW. Sources said "good progress" was made Saturday between the union and GM.
The first part of this second week, however, has passed without any tentative deal. Talks between the two parties have centered around wages, profit-sharing and a faster route to full-time wages.
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, protested with General Motors workers Sunday in Detroit.
Warren encouraged protestors to "be strong." She criticized GM for making billions of dollars in profits last year, and closing down plants.
"Their own loyalty is to their own bottom line. The workers of the UAW are here to say, 'no more.' They want a fair wage. They want benefits. Everybody deserves a living wage in this country," Warren said.
Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar also have joined the union strike.
READ IN-DEPTH
- Day 10: Progress being made during negotiations
- The latest on UAW-GM strike: Ripple effect continues
- DISCUSSION: The future of electric vehicles and auto jobs
- UAW-GM strike enters second week with no tentative agreement
- Elizabeth Warren protests with striking UAW members at GM Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant
- GM moves striking UAW members to COBRA healthcare coverage
- Q&A on day 3 of the UAW-GM national strike
- Perspective on day 3 of the UAW-GM national strike
- First day ends without deal -- here's what happened
- Plight of temporary workers, rising health care costs top list of concerns for UAW members
- Strike against GM about more than fair wages -- read more